LJ Studios | Photography

About Us

At L J Studios, we pride ourselves on our level of experience and expertise. Our photographers are all members of professional organizations; we are affiliated with Professional Photographers of America (PPA), Wedding and Portrait Photographers International (WPPI), and Professional Photographers of Greater New York (PPGNY).

Working with the latest in digital technology, we are ready to serve your needs in the studio or on location.

At L J Studios, we use ONLY Professional Grade Equipment and Software.

All our images are backed up in our studio as well as an offsite location to ensure that the memories we create are archived indefinitely.

James Samela

James Samela, owner of LJ Studios, has photographed thousands of weddings and events. To him, photography is more than just a snapshot of life; it transcends the world of the still image and creates a dynamic narrative of memories. His ability to capture emotion is unparalleled in this industry; through the use of artistic lighting design, unique poses, and candid moments, James is able to create a photographic account to satisfy the vision of each of his clients. The images he captures distinguish themselves as exceptional in their photojournalistic and artistic value, providing his clients with a skillful record of their most precious memories.

James’ interest in photography was sparked during high school, when he attended his first course in black and white photography. Later, he was accepted to the Rhode Island School of Photography, where he truly began to pursue, develop, and explore his craft. He graduated with a degree in Advanced Photography.

Since college, James has extended his experience to many areas of photography. He has held positions as a custom black and white printer, professional color printer, professional print and negative retouching artist, and professional wedding photographer. Each role has increased his clinical repertoire as well as his knowledge photography. James regularly attends lectures and courses to expand his photography skills. As a member of the Wedding and Portrait Photographers International (WPPI) and The Professional Photographers of America (PPA), James strives to learn new techniques and to study the latest developments, keeping him at the forefront of his field.

Kate Goodrich

Kate Goodrich began taking pictures at the age of ten. However it wasn’t until high-school that she realized photography was something more than a way to capture meaningful pictures of her friends. She began taking every black and white photography class she could, resulting in some of her work being chosen to tour Japan in a high-school art work exchange exhibition and being awarded a scholarship to the Art Institute of Savannah, in Savannah, Georgia.

After graduating high-school, Kate went to the University of Texas, where she received a degree in psychology. While still investigating her love of photography and upon completing her bachelors, she moved to New York City to pursue a Masters in that field. Realizing that photography was still her primary passion, Kate decided to go back to her first love and begin her career in photography.

Since deciding to get back to her roots, Kate has both taken and been the teacher’s aide in many classes at the International Center of Photography in New York City. She has participated in many workshops around the world, including Mexico, Thailand, and Europe. Her background in psychology has taught her to look constantly look for what’s below the surface, the emotion behind every action taken… to capture the sublime beauty of the everyday. Her artwork has been on display at the Umbrella Arts Gallery in New York City as well as being published in the East Village underground newspaper, Boog City.

Kate joined the family at LJ Studios early in 2007 and has become an invaluable part of our company.

Michael Cinelli

Michael Cinelli began his photographic career in high school with a course in Black and White Photography. In 1999 he attended NYSSA (New York Summer School of the Arts) before enrolling in Suny Purchase College. Michael majored in Fine Art Photography and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree. He has worked many bands, photographically covering their tours and creating spectacular album covers. Michael has also been a guest judge for the Fairfield photographic society for three years. He has had art shown in Eastchester, NY Greenwich, CT, and Purchase College. Michael has also sold much of his work in auctions.

Michael joined the family at LJ Studios in 2004 as an assistant, and has grown into a talented Wedding Photojounalist. Already a very skilled photographer, his fine art background allows him to take pictures with a fresh perspective and create images with passion and dedication.

Gearbox

At LJ Studios, we pride ourselves on working with the “Latest and greatest” equipment available.

We use ONLY Professional Grade Equipment, and we carry backup equipment for everything that we use on every event.

Digital SLR Camera Bodies
Nikon D3
Nikon D300
Nikon D2x

Lenses
Nikon 17-55mm 2.8D
Nikon 28-70mm 2.8D
Nikon 80-200mm 2.8D
Nikon 85mm 1.4D
Nikon 20mm 2.8D
Nikon 10.5mm 2.8 Fisheye

Lighting
Nikon SB-800 Strobes
Elinchrom Strobe Heads
Quantum Turbo Batteries

Media
Lexar UDMA 4 and 8 Gigabyte Compact Flash Cards

Computers and Software
Dell Quad Core Xeon Processors
Western Digital Backup Drives
Apple Mac Book Pro
Adobe Photo Shop
Adobe Lightroom
Nik Software

And yes, we still have our Medium Format Hasselblad cameras and lenses for those of you that might want us to shoot film….